Local Gov'ts Standardize Property Inquiries

Local Gov'ts Standardize Property Inquiries

Following several housing scandals in recent months, many local authorities have issued new standards to tighten up home registration inquiries to better protect people's privacy rights, China Youth Daily reported.

Two months ago, a report about a woman referred to as "house aunt" Li Yunqing owning 24 properties was proved to be false after an investigation. Li owns eight homes, all of which she purchased through legal means.

The false information was released after an illegal inquiry by a housing registration employee. The resulting rumor had a negative impact on Li.

To better protect people's privacy, local governments such as the Zhangzhou municipal government in Fujian Province have promulgated interim procedures stipulating that only homeowners, procuratorates, courts and housing security departments have the right to file inquiries regarding the property of a certain person without providing a concrete location or the number of home ownership certificates. House registration staff should not release any information to the public illegally, the procedures stipulate.

In Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province, people must provide the ID card of the person about whom they are inquiring and a power of attorney to get such information. Husbands and wives can file inquiries about each other's property information with their marriage certificates.

People are no longer allowed to search for home ownership information by providing only a person's name and national identity number.